Friday October 12, 2007 1:07 pm

WAO-1 Gives Massages

Tokyo’s Waseda University has developed the WAO-1 (Waseda Asahi Oral Rehabilitation) Robot. It was created for hospitalized patients with jaw related medical problems who also require facial massage. The WAO-1’s arms have ceramic spheres that roll over the skin which are controlled by algorithms to resemble massaging. Six sensors adjust the pressure. The team says that the bot could also give beauty and relaxation massages with minor tweaking. We’re certainly up for that application if they ever become affordable for the average human. Clinical trials will begin next month.